Posts in "Internet of Things"

March 23, 2015

Members of the Federal Communications Commission are back on the Hill this week, with Chairman Tom Wheeler and commissioner Ajit Pai testifying in budget and net neutrality hearings. Hearings and events on the Internet of Things are also on tap in the week ahead.

March 2, 2015

The American Cable Association holds its summit and congressional committees hold cybersecurity hearings as well as budget hearings on NASA, the Federal Communications Commission and the Commerce Department this week.

The Association of American Universities, the Association of Public and Land Grant Universities, the Biotechnology Industry Organization, the Innovation Alliance, the Medical Device Manufacturers Association, and the National Venture Capital Associationhost a patent event.

February 11, 2015

Earlier this week, Sen.Edward J. Markeyreleased a report that called for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to issue new privacy and security standards for vehicles to protect “drivers in the modern age of increasingly connected vehicles.” On Thursday, Markey said he plans to introduce legislation.

“We need the electronic equivalent of seat belts and air bags to keep drivers and their information safe,” the Massachusetts Democrat said at a Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee hearing Wednesday.

The security and privacy standards he outlined are largely what the report calls for.

Among the requirements he said should be included in security standards: protecting a vehicle’s wireless access points against hacking, ensuring information collected is secured and encrypted, and the ability for manufacturers to detect and respond to “real-time hacking events.”

Among the requirements he said should be included in privacy standards: drivers being informed about data collection and use and requiring drivers to give consent in order for personal driving information to be used for advertising or marketing.

He also wants a rating system for “how the vehicle protects drivers beyond those minimum standards,” to be displayed in new cars.

February 9, 2015

Among this week’s events, Lincoln Labs hosts its Reboot Congress event, the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee holds a hearing on the Internet of Things and the Technology Policy Institute holds an event on patent legislation.

The Federal Trade Commission released a staff report on the Internet of Things. Among the takeaways was the report’s determination that it’s “preemptive” to enact legislation specific to this area of technology.

January 27, 2015

A Federal Trade Commission staff report released Tuesday on connected devices known as the Internet of Things says legislation specific to this area of technology is “premature,” but reiterates recommendations for broader legislation on data security and privacy.

From the report:

Commission staff agrees with those commenters who stated that there is great potential for innovation in this area and that IoT-specific legislation at this stage would be premature. Staff also agrees that development of self-regulatory programs designed for particular industries would be helpful as a means to encourage the adoption of privacy-and security-sensitive practices.

However, in light of the ongoing threats to data security and the risk that emerging IoT technologies might amplify these threats, staff reiterates the Commission’s previous recommendations for Congress to enact strong, flexible, and technology-neutral federal legislation to strengthen its existing data security enforcement tools and to provide notification to consumers when there is a security breach.

The report goes on to state that the “pervasiveness of information collection and use” made possible by the Internet of Things “reinforces the need for baseline privacy standards, which the Commission previously recommended in its 2012 privacy report.”

“Commission staff thus again recommends that Congress enact broad-based (as opposed to IoT-specific) privacy legislation,” the report states. “Such legislation should be flexible and technology-neutral, while also providing clear rules of the road for companies about such issues as how to provide choice to consumers about data collection and use practices.”

The report notes that Commissioner Maureen K. Ohlhausen disagrees with this portion of the recommendations, because she “questions what harms baseline privacy legislation would reach that the FTC’s existing authority cannot.”

Much of the report focuses on staff recommendations for best practices for companies on security, data minimization and notice and choice.

December 8, 2014

It could be the last week of the 113th Congress (maybe?) and with the December holidays fast approaching, it promises to be a packed with congressional hearings on intellectual property nominees, drones and human space flight and events on issues from surveillance to the sharing economy.

Monday

The Advisory Committee to the Congressional Internet Caucus hosts a panel discussion on the sharing economy.

The Direct Marketing Association and Venable LLP hold an event titled the “The Dynamic State of Data: A Policy Briefing for the Data-Driven Marketing Community.”

The Personal Connected Health Alliance’smHealth Summit on mobile and connected health continues into the week.

Tuesday

The Atlantic holds a panel event on science, technology, education and math careers.

National Consumers League holds a panel discussion on legislation on data security standards.

Wednesday

The American Enterprise Institute holds an event on surveillance, specifically on “legal intercept.”

The Brookings Institution holds an event on mobile technologies and developing economies.

The Senate Judiciary Committee holds a hearing on the nominations of Michelle K. Lee, to head the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, and Daniel H. Marti, to be the White House’s intellectual property enforcement coordinator.

June 27, 2014

Intel brought a showcase of sorts to Washington on Thursday to display technologies that are around today and what could be in the future. With the “Internet of Things” receiving a lot of attention recently from the Pew Research Center and elsewhere, Technocrat was curious to see what Intel might have on hand with connected devices.